


Righting Wrongs

by RoLo_Renegade



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Another Fix-It Fic, Because Good Doggo Deserves Ear Skritches, Because They Broke It Again, But Look I Even Found Room For Gertrude, CatCo Worldwide Media, Deserves Way Better Than This Shit, F/F, Fluff, I'm Just So Damn Tired, In the First Episode, So Does Cat Grant, supercat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 18:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21058895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoLo_Renegade/pseuds/RoLo_Renegade
Summary: With yet another sale of CatCo Worldwide Media, all might seem lost...but even the darkest nights come to an end...





	Righting Wrongs

“You don’t have to keep sneaking looks at me, Nia. I’m fine.”

She finally turned to face the woman standing beside her, her mouth compressing into a small, unconvincing smile. “I’m fine,” she repeated and squeezed Nia’s shoulder. “It just takes a little more time to get hyped for this place right now, you know?”

Nia nodded with a frown, her gaze dropping to the coffee cup in her grip. She knew every reporter now trapped in the CatCo bullpen by non-compete clauses felt just the same as Kara—especially after James Olsen so unceremoniously walked away, leaving them all at the mercy of Andrea Rojas.

With James gone, the reporter pools had no managerial line of defense between them and their new acting CEO and “editor-in-chief”—a title Andrea proved repeatedly every day she was unworthy of holding. In the vacuum of competence in the leadership hierarchy, everyone had begun subtly to look to Kara as their unofficial guide.

Word had traveled quickly—as it always does with reporters—about how Kara had stood up to Andrea with her refusal to willingly compromise her journalistic ethics or allow Andrea to silence her from reporting the _whole_ truth.

Now, each day was a battle of wills between the women, with Kara never giving ground but Andrea always wielding her final authority with spiteful exuberance. In the secrecy of quiet corners and the communal misery of after-work drinks now sought miles away from what they all dubbed the fallout zone, Kara’s coworkers both praised and pitied her for her unrepentant devotion to the correct way of reporting the news.

The more senior reporters always sported wistful smiles during these conversations. They knew precisely who had instilled in Kara such a deep vein of respect for journalistic integrity. They also knew —and admired —how, in surprisingly short time, Kara had become her greatest pupil, upholding her always demanding standards in a way that kept them inspired, even in light of their current situation.

The elevator doors slid open and Nia caught the moment Kara’s expression slid into an unconscious grimace as she shouldered her bag higher and stepped out onto their floor.

Skittering quickly closer to Kara’s side, she asked, “Do you want to get lunch today? We could try that new Laotian place that just opened over in SoMa.”

“I don’t know. I think I’ve finally found someone at the Transit Authority willing—”

Words stuttered to a stop, startling Nia into looking over at the suddenly silent hero. Her brow quickly crinkled at the gape-jawed expression adorning her friend’s face. “Kara?”

Ignoring the questioning beckon, Kara continued the rest of the way to her desk, eyes scanning the rainbow-colored sea of flowers covering the tabletop and overflowing down onto the floor. As she dropped her bag, she noticed peripherally others within the bullpen moving closer, their curiosity crackling with the intensity she suspected had been growing in anticipation of her arrival.

She reached for the largest of the vases setting on her desk, filled with a gorgeous bouquet of multi-petaled flowers in white, pink, and red. Nestled in the front was a card, which Kara plucked out carefully and unfolded with her free hand. Her mouth dropped open again at the sight of one line of text, written with painfully familiar cursive flourish:

** _I will always see the hero within you._ **

“Kara?”

Nia repeated her entreaty, more softly and with a clear note of worry in her tone. At the sight of Kara’s confusion when she finally looked up, Nia carefully wiped away a tear from the hero’s cheek. “Are you okay? Who are all these from?”

Before Kara could respond, she caught the distinct mood shift throughout the bullpen. Noticing how everyone shuffled back slightly, she turned toward the new arrival, wiping at the wetness beneath her glasses as she did. Nia caught the tension to seize Kara’s posture once more and didn’t even have to look to know who had arrived.

Andrea Rojas moved closer, running a finger along the petal of one of the flowers in the vase Kara still held. Her gaze lingered noticeably on the card Kara angled in such a way, she couldn’t see the text inside. “Ms. Danvers, it would seem you have quite the admirer. Might I ask who?”

With a shrug, she replied, “No signature. Guess they wanted to remain anonymous.”

Disappointment darkened Andrea’s expression before she offered a condescending smile. “No worries, you can apply that investigative persistence of yours to finding out who sent these.”

“I’ll be sure to tweet whatever I find.”

Soft snickers around them drove Andrea’s expression even darker. “You know how I like brevity. I also like my offices free of clutter. You need to have all these flowers out of here by COB today.”

Nia could hear the creak of the glass vase within Kara’s grip and couldn’t help but wonder how much more pressure it could withstand before it—and Kara—broke. She caught the slightest pull of muscle at the corner of Kara’s eye as she struggled to suppress whatever expression Andrea’s words were summoning to her face. However, just as quickly, she froze, her eyes going noticeably wide as she turned toward the elevator that opened right into the bullpen.

At the ding of an elevator car arriving on their floor, Andrea twisted toward the sound, her irritated scowl made even more prevalent by the massive smile she caught growing on Kara’s face before she turned away. Four people emerged from the car, a petite blonde at the front leading the way with measured, confident strides toward the office Andrea had claimed for herself.

When the group of new arrivals passed through the office door without so much as a glance toward anyone else, Andrea hurried after them, her fists clenched against her thighs. Kara and Nia exchanged knowing glances before quickly following, the rest of the bullpen pulled into their passing wake.

Storming over to where the group had gathered, she snapped at the blonde with her back to the door, “Who are you and why are you in my office?”

Ignoring the unimpressive demands, the blonde continued to glance around, her hands slowly slipping up to rest against the small of her back. Kara heard the melodramatic sigh the moment it began.

“Please tell me who turned _my_ office into a ski lodge lobby so I can fire them immediately.”

Someone from her entourage answered, “I believe that would be James Olsen.”

Shifting her weight to one side with a pop of her hip, she waved one hand airily. “Well, he at least saved me some trouble by removing himself from the equation. Still, this all needs to go. Make an appointment with Kelly Hoppen. She recently redid my home office and it’s exquisite. Tell her it’s an urgent design catastrophe. There’s no way I can sit in this office eight hours or more a day, feeling like I’m trapped in this lumberjack limbo.”

“Of course, Ms. Grant.”

_“Excuse me.”_

The several beats of purposeful silence were breathtaking to Kara, ratcheting her excitement to a point where Nia heard the vase actually crack within her hold that time.

Finally, the blonde pivoted on her precariously high Louboutins and replied, “I doubt there’s any acceptable excuse for you.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?”

With an expression of precision _ennui_, the blonde sighed, “Apparently, the only person inside this office right now with any interest or experience in actually running a news company.”

“The only thing you’re in charge of right now is figuring out how to get off this floor before I call security.”

“Please do,” she countered. “They will be happy to escort _you_ to a floor where you’ll no longer get in the way of real journalists reporting real news. At that point, I would advise you to fire your legal team and rethink whatever future business deals you might be considering with Lena Luthor. Both have left you seriously uninformed and shit out of luck, as the saying goes.”

Andrea could feel the shifting vibe throughout the office—knew she was already on the losing end of whatever this encounter was. Still, she refused to give in to the other woman’s orders.

“I’m fairly certain the one-point-three billion I just shelled out for this sinking ship means I don’t have to do a damned thing you say.”

Settling in against the edge of James’s desk, Cat crossed her arms and responded in a tone tempered in a way that overjoyed Kara with its patronizing cadence. “It’s true, you attempted to purchase ownership of CatCo. However, with the obeisance we must pay to our boards as publicly traded commodities, owning stock in a company doesn’t ensure you _run_ the company.”

She paused long enough to see the moment of understanding when it finally caught fire in Andrea’s now furious glare. “Whatever fairy tales you’ve told to trick _my_ board into listening to you—”

“Free lesson in reporting: You don’t need to spin tales when the truth is so much more interesting. Also, you should be aware, as a significant shareholder of this company, I am part of that board to which CatCo’s CEO is beholden—not the other way around.”

She took a deep breath, steadying herself in preparation for the delicious truth she was about to drop. Kara could see the corners of her lips twitch in a way only her former assistant would catch.

“You see, when I had to place all forty-five percent of my shares into a blind trust, I had my legal team research a way to safeguard my vested interest. After all, I wasn’t running CatCo anymore, but it was still funding my sons’ futures. Also, I suspected at some point, CatCo would end up on the auction block while I was working for Olivia.”

She caught the petulant flash in Andrea’s glare at her casual mention of Marsdin. Kara caught it as well and barely stopped her own smile at the pleased hum Cat offered in return.

“There was, unfortunately, no way I could control who would take over my company. However, I wanted to have the option of coming back and salvaging it if it ended up in the hands of utter incompetence. What they came up with was actually brilliant. In exchange for remaining passive when Morgan Edge attempted to take over CatCo with a tender offer to the majority shareholders, my legal team won a petition to add a second sale clause to the sales documents. It stipulated that my blind trust or I would have first option to purchase up to fifteen percent of the company’s shares if any block of shares ten percent or greater came on the market at a later date. It wouldn’t have done anything to stop whoever initially bought CatCo from doing serious damage, but it would go into effect with whoever purchased CatCo in a second sale, giving me majority shares and the option of coming in and saving my company.”

She leaned back with a noticeably disapproving scowl. “To be honest, I was surprised when I learned Lena Luthor was the one who bought CatCo, but I was even more surprised when my lawyers informed me she was selling my company again so soon.”

Andrea sneered at the woman before her. “Yes, to _me_. CatCo is my company.”

Kara couldn’t restrain her snicker at the annoyance in Cat’s expression. “I’m sorry, are you having trouble keeping up? Should I have one of our designers make you an infographic? Would that be easier? Or should we just wait until I’m finished and have someone reduce it all down to a _tweet_ for you?”

Without waiting for whatever pedantic response Andrea struggled to find, Cat continued, “What I’m trying to explain to you, Ms. Rojas, is that while you may have attempted to buy CatCo, it is not _your_ company anymore. As of an emergency board meeting at seven o’clock last night, it once more became mine. When Lena sold CatCo to you, she triggered the second sale clause, unlocking the option of allowing me to purchase the previously mentioned fifteen percent of CatCo stock from the control block she had put up for sale. I, of course, exercised the option as soon as possible, which means you now own fifteen percent fewer CatCo shares and the check I gave the Corporate Secretary last night to cover my purchase should arrive in your bank account later today. When you combine that fifteen percent of stock previously held by Lena Luthor to the forty-five percent I recovered from my blind trust when I left the White House, you will see that I am now the majority owner of CatCo.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “It was a depressingly cheap investment, considering what CatCo stock used to be worth under _my_ leadership, but I am now the majority shareholder of CatCo Worldwide Media, with sixty percent of its shares. As CatCo is a publicly traded business,” she once more reminded, “the CEO is still beholden to its board—and you own zero percent of their confidence after I showed them video of your little staff ‘pep talk’ in which you detailed plans to turn CatCo’s once respected brand into the new _National City Enquirer_.”

The glare Andrea directed toward the reporters standing just outside the office fell flat beneath her clear impotence in the situation. “No one should have recorded that.”

Kara couldn’t believe the incredulous snort she heard could have come from Cat.

“Then you probably don’t want to know they did it using your Silver prototype. All they had to do was blink a certain way and I was soon in possession of all the proof I needed to convince me it was time to come out of my far too early retirement.”

She pushed up from the desk, slowly making her way across the office until she was standing in front of Andrea. “When the board heard your intentions, they were _not_ pleased. So I agreed, with their request and blessing, to return as acting CEO until we could all come to agreement on a permanent replacement. I assure you, you needn’t bother applying for the position.”

With a slight lift of her shoulders, she moved around Andrea, calling out as she passed, “Oh, and be sure to take the _renowned_ Mr. Dey with you. Perhaps he can go back to slinging his pointless, emotional dreck at the _Daily Mail_. Here, however, we have higher standards for our reporting staff.”

Kara visibly shivered at the words Cat spoke while looking directly into her eyes.

With a slow blink, the CEO shifted her attention back to Andrea, but not without the slightest uptick of a smile for her protégé.

“Since you’re the second person to acquire CatCo regardless of having zero journalism experience, let me give you a quick lesson: Pulitzers are not liabilities. I should know: I built a global media empire on the foundation of two of them. I have always staffed my reporter pools with a coterie of Pulitzer winners and I celebrate each and every win as it rightfully deserves to be celebrated. In fact, as soon as I finish cleaning house here, I plan on celebrating our latest winner in the way she deserves.”

She directed her next words to the crowd around her, once more looking directly in Kara’s eyes. “One of the first things I will be doing once we clear away this portion of my morning is sending a company-wide invitation to a soiree this Saturday, held at the Starscape. I’ve reserved the entire rooftop lounge so we can all properly celebrate Ms. Danvers’s _first_ Pulitzer.”

Kara couldn’t resist the happy laughter she felt filling her lungs at Cat’s playful emphasis.

The moment passed quickly as Andrea moved after Cat, finally countering, “As soon as my lawyers learn of all this, they’ll have your ass right out of this office.”

This time, Kara saw the entire width of Cat’s grin, which seemed revealed just for her. “Whatever you say, Ms. Rojas. Although, I assure you, everything I’ve just told you is the legal and binding truth. It was also all in the contract the whole time. At the very least, your legal team should have caught it and brought it to your attention. Perhaps you should hire lawyers capable of a reading retention beyond 280 characters. It might have saved you a great deal of trouble. Then again, hooray for me.”

When she caught Andrea’s hissed insult as she stormed into the still-awaiting elevator car, Cat shrugged with all the indifference of a woman utterly unfazed. As soon as the elevator doors closed, however, she allowed her features to finally relax into the full smile she’d been aching to show.

Her arms spread into a wide-open invitation, which Kara had no intention of ignoring. Quickly stepping forward once Nia took the vase from her hands, she wrapped Cat in the full embrace of her arms, laughing through the tears that now fell freely from her eyes.

Huffing in surprise, Cat noted with no lack of amusement how only the tips of her shoes remained in touch with the floor throughout Kara’s hug. She let the hero continue to hold onto her as long as she needed, though, her hands rubbing a soothing pattern against Kara’s back.

When she did finally shift back, but not out of Kara’s impressively tight hold, she pressed her hands against Kara’s cheeks. “I am so very proud of you, Kara Danvers.”

The sound to escape Kara—part sob, part laughter—sparked impromptu cheers and clapping from the reporters still gathered around them.

Eyes still firmly locked on Kara’s, she continued, “I’m going to need help to get back up to speed here.”

Before she could even ask for a recommendation for someone to assist her, Kara instantly replied, “I’d be happy to help you, Ms. Grant.”

She saw the rising dismissal and quickly added, “James never hired a new assistant when Eve moved to L-Corp.”

She grimaced at the thought, an expression mirrored eerily by the woman in her hold. “So I’m the only one left who knows the most about what you’ll need and who can provide it. And, really, it’s no problem. I’m happy to help.”

“For a day or so,” Cat finally conceded, feeling Kara’s resplendent smile all the way to her toes. “In that time, I’ll ask HR to find me a new assistant—hopefully one without secret murder-y intentions.”

Kara caught sight of a surprisingly regretful frown before Cat finally stepped all the way out of her hold. “As for the rest of you, get the hell back to work. We have a lot to do to get this company back up to _my_ standards. I expect to see some of the most brilliant, in-depth, and scintillating copy ever written to start coming across my desk ASAP.”

Affirmative murmurs filtered through the crowd as they dispersed toward their desks at Cat’s dismissal. Catching the hesitation of the person standing closest to Kara, Cat shifted her attention. Her expression quickly slipped into a pleased grin. “Nia.”

The Naltorian stepped forward into Cat’s arms, hugging her with similar exuberance but nowhere near the strength of Kara’s embrace. “Ms. Grant, I am _so_ happy to see you here.”

The CEO hugged her tightly before shifting away with a fond pat to her cheek. “How has it been, being mentored by Kara?”

“Everything you promised it would be and more,” she replied, laughing at Kara’s wide-eyed shock.

“I told you, Ms. Nal,” she teased, “I would only send you to the best of the best.”

Backing away, she waggled a finger toward Kara. “And now I need the best of the best to help me navigate the land mines of incompetence I’m bound to stumble across. If you would be so kind, Ms. Danvers?”

The reporters situated in the main bullpen couldn’t help but smile in conjunction with the joyous sounds coming from Kara as she fell obediently in step beside Cat. As the two women once more entered Cat’s reclaimed office, the CEO issued several orders to those who had accompanied her before dismissing them with an airy flick of her fingers.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she finally directed toward Kara, “but I think I’d like to work outside on the balcony.”

She glanced around the office she once knew with a comforting intimacy. “Whatever James thought he was doing with this, it’s honestly one of the most depressing office designs I’ve ever witnessed.”

Kara couldn’t help but nod, it not being the first time she’d mourned James’s decision to gut all traces of Cat’s interior design.

“However, it seems he saw fit to spare my balcony,” she finished, the curiosity sharp in her tone.

Blushing only slightly, the hero softly offered, “I asked James to leave the balcony alone—at least for a while.”

“And why is that?”

Kara perked at the playful purr in Cat’s voice. “It’s always been my favorite part of this office.”

_Other than you._

“I wasn’t quite ready to lose it.”

Cat gave a pained flinch at the unspoken portion of Kara’s statement.

“Yes, well, you won’t be losing it any time soon—or me, for that matter.”

Grabbing her bag before Kara could react to her statement and sauntering out onto the balcony, she smirked at the almost betraying haste Kara used to catch up to her.

After dropping the bag onto the coffee table, she continued over to the balcony’s edge. Kara watched her lean her forearms against the ledge, a passing breeze shifting a blonde lock across her forehead. Cat seemed unbothered, happy to recapture the enjoyment she always felt at standing in just this spot, gazing out over her city. She breathed deeply, a contented noise filling the space between them as Kara moved to stand beside her.

“I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed this view.”

Kara started to nod, but stopped with the startled realization that Cat was looking directly at her. Unable to control the blush she felt burning through her cheeks, she instead faced the woman beside her with a bright smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. “I have missed you so much, Ms. Grant.”

“Nunh-unh,” Cat chided playfully, “Pulitzer winners get to call me Cat.”

Kara ducked her head to try to hide the goofy grin she knew she now wore. She froze in place, however, at the feel of Cat’s fingers wrapping around her forearm. Breath catching in her chest, she stared at the hand on her arm—felt the warmth of the flesh, the ridges of each finger’s unique print, the flow of blood circulating beneath the skin, the tension of muscle controlling her grip.

“Cat, I—”

The words hung in her throat as she zeroed in on the sound of someone entering Cat’s office. Gaze shifting toward the imminent intrusion, she pressed her lips together to keep in check whatever confession she was about to speak.

Cat sighed in disappointed understanding when she caught on that someone was getting ready to interrupt them. Giving Kara’s arm a soft squeeze, she said, “Save that sentiment for later, because I _will_ be coming back to claim it.”

At the arrival of the head of HR, Cat pivoted away. Kara drew a shaky breath before settling back into the comfortable memory of her time as Cat’s assistant and slipping easily once more into the role.

And so the morning progressed, with Kara bringing Cat up to speed so swiftly and easily that it was as though the returning CEO hadn’t missed any beat in CatCo’s rhythm since her departure.

Nia watched it all with growing enchantment regarding the strange, solid dynamic of the two women. She knew from her brief time as one of Cat’s interns at the White House how demanding she could be. She also knew from the rare occasions of seeing a more relaxed version of the woman how much she enjoyed talking about Kara. Other than Carter, there was no one from Cat’s personal life about whom she spoke more frequently or freely—or respected and admired more obviously.

Conversely, it had taken no time at all to learn how Kara shared those feelings in abundance for Cat, wrapped neatly in a layer of adoration Nia was certain not even the hero herself was aware she revealed so easily. Seeing them together now, however, Nia quickly understood that while Cat might not be nearly as transparent in her emotions as Kara, the smaller blonde most assuredly shared Kara’s more private affections.

The buzz of an incoming call roused her from her contemplation. She frowned at the name on her screen as she answered. “Hey, Alex. What’s up?” She lowered her voice slightly. “Do you need any _help_?”

“Stand down, Dreamer,” she chuckled, pleased at the responding laugh she caught from the Naltorian. “Nothing official. I’ve been trying to reach Kara for like an hour now. Maggie and I were going to try that new Laotian place, and we thought getting away from CatCo for some food might cheer her up a little. But is she busy on a story? She’s not picking up my calls or answering my texts.”

Nia’s gaze drifted toward the door to Cat’s office, the image she’d seen the last time she’d gone to the balcony instantly springing to mind: Cat and Kara seated closely side by side, their bodies turned toward each other, knees touching as they bent over a layout practically bleeding from grease pencil marks. Cat’s expression crinkled with concentration as she drew another X and Kara laughed at whatever the smaller blonde muttered with the action, her eyes shining with a level of happiness Nia only then realized she’d never seen Kara reach before.

“She’s with Ms. Grant right now.”

“What? Cat Grant is there?”

“Yeah, long story, but she’s apparently back as CatCo’s CEO—at least for a while.”

She caught the sound of Maggie laughing and mumbling something in the background, which made Alex chuckle in agreement. “Yeah, no wonder she’s not responding. I’ll let the DEO know she’ll be out of commission the rest of the day—and maybe even the evening, if Kara finally pulls her head out of her ass.”

Alex snickered at the soft sound of Nia’s confusion through the line. “That’s right, you’ve never witnessed the Cat Effect before.”

She laughed again, a low, exuberant growl. “Cat Grant is like the sun to Kara—and Kara has been without her sun for far too long. Do them both a huge favor and keep as many people from bothering them as you can. I think this time together will do them both a world of good. And if you’d like to meet us for lunch, we promise we won’t drill you for information the whole time.”

With an amused huff, Nia shook her head. “Maybe next time. Everyone’s in total lockdown mode right now, churning out copy for Ms. Grant. It’s like—it’s like a whole new place here right now.”

“Of course, it is. The Queen has returned. Don’t worry about lunch. We’ll catch you the next time. Good luck with your articles and, if you get to see Kara at some point today, tell her we’re _definitely_ talking later.”

Nia caught the sound of Maggie calling out in the background, “Fuck that! Tell Kara if she doesn’t finally ask that woman out, I’m going to ask her out for her—using my cruiser’s loud speaker from the middle of CatCo Plaza!”

At the shocked gasp Nia issued, Alex huffed, “And that’s my wife, the ever-subtle Maggie Sawyer.” To Nia, she finished, “We’ll see you on game night. Just—take care of them both, okay?”

“Ah, of course,” she stammered, only slightly bemused by the turn the conversation had taken. “Give Gerty some ear skritches for me.”

Alex gave a happy affirmative before disconnecting the call. When Nia set down her phone, she caught herself on the brink of actually giggling at the revelation behind Maggie’s playful threat.

When finally the end of the day arrived, she watched her coworkers pack up their things and head out, this time almost unwillingly rather than with the desperate haste she’d been witnessing with alarming frequency. She noted, too, the uptick in mood and the actual smiles and laughter she caught from a couple groups as they convened before heading off to the elevators. She waved off a few offers of getting drinks from Noonan’s, deciding, instead, to keep watch over the entrance to Cat’s office, which hadn’t seen another person pass through it in nearly an hour.

She spent the next half hour finishing up her third article of the day and the outline to a story she hoped to start researching in the morning, emailing her files to Kara for review and shutting down her system. Settling her suddenly jittery nerves with a breath, she quietly moved through the CEO’s office toward the balcony.

She was fairly positive the sound she made at what she saw was audible only to canines—and Kryptonians. However, Kara was clearly far too distracted by the weight of Cat’s body pressing her against the couch cushions and her hands tangling in Cat’s hair to notice.

The smaller blonde finished what Nia suspected had been a languid and _thorough_ exploration of Kara’s mouth, her lips tipping into the softest smile aimed at the hero, before stating, “Ms. Nal, perhaps you would like to stop hovering with open-mouthed surprise before you draw attention to all of us?”

With a suddenly hyper-aware glance over her shoulder, Nia slipped out onto the balcony. She smiled sheepishly while noting Kara’s utterly disheveled appearance. The hero pushed herself back upright, careful to match Cat’s movements as she shifted back to sitting on the couch, and straightened her dress and glasses. Cat brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, smirking at the way Kara bit her lip to try to hide her grin. The besotted blush in her cheeks, however, was Cat’s damnation and delight.

Fluttering her hands in a way Cat recognized as a definite pick-up from Kara, Nia stammered, “I, uh, just wanted to let you know most everyone’s left for the evening and-and to see if you needed anything else before I left.”

“Other than your discretion, if you are so inclined to offer it, no. I believe we’re okay.”

Both Nia and Kara caught the faint uptick of tone in Cat’s statement. Kara immediately nodded, her shy grin finally breaking its bonds into the full sunny smile Nia had missed seeing. “Yeah,” she replied, “I believe we’re _very_ okay.”

Nia’s eyes reflected her joy as she watched the two slip closer against each other, an almost unconscious submission to the connection between them. Cat reached over and entwined her fingers with Kara’s, pursing her lips coyly at the strong return grip.

When Kara shifted her attention back to Nia, the happiness she radiated was practically palpable. “Thank you, Nia.”

“Of course.” She backed once more toward the balcony door, tugging at one of her earlobes as she did. “You, uh, might want to be a little careful, though, since I’m heading out now.”

With a waggle of her eyebrows that instantly deepened Kara’s blush and earned a rightful _tsk_ from Cat, she spun and practically danced out of Cat’s office.

The ensuing silence somehow escaped any sense of timidity from Kara, which signaled to Cat how much the hero’s certainty and faith in herself continued to grow. Unable to resist testing the clearly fluid lines of their shifting relationship, Cat leaned closer and teased, “You’ll forgive me if I gloat for a minute for being able to distract even your—_impressive_ hearing, won’t you, darling?”

Kara wrinkled her nose at the playful and completely unsurprising jab before relaxing into a full laugh. Without a second of hesitation, she reached up and removed her glasses, tossing them onto the stack of layouts and copy drafts long ago abandoned. “I’m pretty sure having a kiss that can throw off a Kryptonian’s focus warrants way more than just a minute of gloating.”

Attuned as she was to the moment, Cat noticed, even beneath the teasing, the flutter of darker emotions in Kara’s gaze before she could blink it away. Fighting her own instinct to lock down behind her protective walls, she instead tightened her hold on Kara’s hand, calmly asking, “Talk to me?”

Tears reflected the soft pastels of the sunset surrounding them as Kara met her concerned gaze. “It’s just—I should have told you the truth a long time ago. I should have trusted you.”

“I didn’t exactly make a case for trusting me, darling.”

She hitched a shoulder at Kara’s frown. “I was so used to getting the scoop and being right, I failed to stop long enough to realize I was expecting you to give me something you don’t owe anyone. Your truth is just that, Kara: yours, to share or keep at your discretion. No one is entitled to that. I’m sorry for disrespecting that and you.”

Surprisingly, her words seemed to upset the hero even more. She gasped at the feeling of Kara’s grip constricting around her fingers before quickly relaxing with awareness. “I—I kind of wish you’d been here a week ago, to give me that speech.”

The sound of her laugh was thick with emotion and totally devoid of humor.

“Lena?”

Kara tensed at Cat’s unnerving foresight. “I thought finally telling her would help her understand how much I trust her and how much her friendship means to me—and how sorry I was I made her feel deceived because I didn’t tell her sooner.”

Cat lifted Kara’s hand and kissed each knuckle. “Your kindness will always be your greatest power, Kara, but it’s one not everyone deserves.”

“Because she’s a Luthor?”

“Because, if my sources are correct, she has committed certain acts that, at the very least, warrant further legal scrutiny.”

Realizing the conversation they were about to broach required their utmost clarity, Cat released her hold on Kara’s hand and rose, stepping once more to the balcony’s edge. She turned toward where Kara remained on the couch, leaning back against the ledge with a soft sigh.

“There are things that were—ignored during James’s time as CatCo’s CEO. Things pertaining to L-Corp and Lena in particular that should have been investigated and reported, but failed to make it beyond first pitch.”

Kara stood, noting the betraying shake in her legs as she did. “What kinds of things?”

Cat crossed her arms, her expression growing surprisingly regretful. “Things you cannot have any involvement covering. Things that could spell very hard times ahead for Ms. Luthor.”

Kara felt the painful twist of Cat’s words in her gut.

“Your friendship with Lena means I will need you to recuse yourself from working on any articles pertaining to investigations that focus on her or L-Corp. I also must insist that you refrain from discussing anything with her during your personal time with her.”

Kara frowned at the waver in Cat’s voice at the end of her statement. However, she felt more sharply the emptiness within her at the words. “There’s not really any personal time anymore.”

She shrugged, a sad, deflated gesture. “All she has time for anymore is coming up with reasons why she can’t see me.”

Cat paused for a beat, her lips pursing into a pensive dip. She pivoted to look out once more over the city, waiting as Kara made her way to her side.

“Were this a more original story, I’d say a solid therapist could do wonders in helping Lena work through her myriad traumas the way mine helps me. However, in this story, if what I’ve heard about her proves to be even remotely true, her chance at redemption without consequence has passed. She has made her choices and it is our duty to finally bring them to light.”

Kara’s silence unsettled her in ways she hated, but she struggled to maintain her composure as she waited for the hero to process all she’d just said.

When Kara finally spoke, her voice was soft but certain. “I wish so much had gone differently for Lena—but you’re right. Even I can’t fix everything.”

She hung her head, watching with a melancholy smile as Cat linked their arms and leaned against her bicep. “I won’t interfere with any CatCo investigations into Lena or L-Corp, either as Kara Danvers or Supergirl.”

Cat pressed closer, rising up on the tips of her toes to kiss Kara’s cheek. “I am sorry. I know, Luthor proclivities aside, Lena has been there for you when others have failed you.”

She felt the tug of Kara pulling her closer, pulling her attention in as well. “I hope that doesn’t include you.”

At sight of Cat pointedly avoiding eye contact, Kara crooked a finger beneath her chin and persistently coaxed her into turning her way. “You have never failed me, Cat.”

“I left you.”

“You left CatCo and National City,” she corrected. “Not me. I was too terrified to ask you not to do that.”

“You wanted to? To ask me not to leave?”

An undignified laugh echoed within Kara’s throat. “I wanted to beg you not to go that night I came to say goodbye on the balcony.”

“The first time I left?”

Hearing the hero’s affirmative hum, she pointed out, “But you didn’t come to say goodbye the night before I left for D.C., either as Kara Danvers or Supergirl. Why?”

Though she tried not to, she could hear the disappointment thrumming through every word of her question.

Kara took it in stride, however, staring far into the distance while collecting her thoughts.

“I couldn’t,” she confessed. “I knew I couldn’t stop you from such an amazing experience. But I also couldn’t—”

The weight of her sadness, even after so much time had passed, cracked her voice and broke her words. Surrendering to the hurt, she sighed, “Even the Girl of Steel has limits to how much she can bear.”

When she finally looked back at Cat, her eyes were clear and bright as she confessed, “I asked James to keep your balcony the same because being here in this space, with you, will always hold special memories for me. When things got so hard this past year and I caught myself wondering if I would make it through, I’d stop here during my evening patrols. I’d stand right here and I would listen for your heart beat.”

Brow crinkling with concern, she hurried to add, “I never honed in on the sound, so I never knew exactly where you were, I promise. But, just hearing you and knowing you were out there if I really needed you—it’s what got me through.”

Cat’s fingers carded though Kara’s hair before resting against her cheek. “_You_ got yourself through, darling. You are so much stronger than you think you are—even beyond these stunningly sexy muscles of yours.”

Encouraging Kara Danvers to blush was quickly moving up the ranks of Cat’s favorite pastimes. With an eye roll the hero somehow managed to make adorable, she teasingly flexed the bicep closest to Cat, giggling when she smacked her shoulder lightly. “Show-off.”

“I’d love to show you more.”

She instantly recognized the expression of surprise and pleasure to brighten Cat’s face and used its familiarity to summon her courage. “You left me stronger than I ever thought Kara Danvers could be. But I think we both could be so much stronger together.”

_“,ehl, magharrah?”_

Cat narrowed her eyes in mock consternation at Kara’s gasp. “I was once personally responsible for writing all articles on you, Supergirl. Of course, I know your House motto.”

Once more, Kara gathered all her internal strength to steady her nerves. “I want you to know everything—I want to share with you everything about me. Will you let me?”

“Did you recognize the flowers that held my card?”

The unexpected question stymied her for several beats before she finally regrouped enough to shake her head.

“They’re camellias. They have quite varied cultural significance depending on where you come from here. However, I chose them in the specific three colors I did for what they mean in modern Western culture.”

Leaning into the inviting warmth of Kara’s body, she ticked off the colors with kisses along the line of her jaw. “White for admiration, pink for longing and devotion, and red for love, passion, and deep desire.”

The dawning understanding within Kara’s eyes was bright as a supernova as she absorbed the promise of Cat’s words. “You—you—I mean, we—”

With a playful click of her tongue, Cat hooked her finger into the collar of Kara’s dress and pulled her closer. “Good thing your Pulitzer was for the _written_ word, darling.”

Kara laughed at the jab Cat whispered against her lips, right before closing the space between them for a series of kisses that quickly matched their extended makeout session from earlier.

When they parted, Kara whispered, “This is a much better use for my mouth anyway, don’t you think?”

Humming softly as she stepped away and took hold of Kara’s hand, Cat began to back toward the balcony entrance. Kara fell easily into the obsidian depths of desire-blown pupils and shook at Cat’s suddenly sultry cadence. “Why don’t we head to my place and explore some other uses?”

Her body reacted automatically, zipping forward so she could scoop Cat into her arms with zero effort. She lifted them both off the ground, twirling into the air and hovering slightly above the balcony’s entrance, hiding them from view.

As Cat got her bearing, she curled her hands around Kara’s shoulders with a contented hum, knowing in that moment she was the safest she would ever be. Pulling herself close enough to press a kiss to Kara’s earlobe, she said, “I’m here, darling, for everything you want to share with me.”

Kara’s responding smile at the promise in Cat’s words and the hope in her tone outshone every city light below and every star above them. As she spun them high into evening sky, the sound of Cat’s laughter surrounding her, she knew no other moment would ever feel righter than this.

**Author's Note:**

> So, instead of working on The Light Unveils the Truth, I ended up getting distracted by this story. It sprang up in my head overnight after I watched the S5 premiere and saw CatCo once more sold to someone with no journalism experience at all. That combined with other things throughout the episode that just really didn't set well with me at all, I decided to release my frustrations to this...and then be done. This season can run (into the ground) without me watching. Now that I have returned CatCo to its rightful ruler, I feel much better. As to whether anything in this story is even legally possible...I have no idea. But it sounded more logical than anything from this show anymore--and that's saying a lot since this is a superhero show. 
> 
> EDIT: A special callout to Superceoluv's SuperCat Week 2019 story [A Surprise Far More Precious Than Any Prize](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20824427) for sticking with me and inspiring my subconscious with the numbers I pulled for Cat's grand re-taking of CatCo (though I missed the awesome opportunity of making Carter the actual head of the company ;-).
> 
> One quick note about my Kryptonese spelling of El Mayarah: That's all me. However, I tried to base it as closely as I could on "official" Kryptonese spelling. I use it in my CADMUS Ascending story as well, because nerd.


End file.
